Podcasts and videos from your computer are synced only one way: from your computer to your iPhone. If you delete a podcast or a video that got onto your iPhone via syncing, the podcast or video will not be deleted from your computer when you sync.

That said, if you buy or download any of the following items on your iPhone, the item will be copied back to your computer automatically when you sync:

Songs

Podcasts

Videos

iBooks, e-books, and audiobooks

Apps

Playlists that you create on your iPhone

You can also sync pictures that you save from

E-mail messages

The iPhone camera

Web pages (by pressing and holding down on an image and then tapping the Save Image button)

Screen shots (by pressing the Home and sleep/wake buttons simultaneously).

To specify the media that you want to copy from your computer to your iPhone, use the Apps, Tones, Music, Podcasts, Movies, TV Shows, iTunes U, Books, and Photos panes. To view any of these panes, make sure that your iPhone is still selected in the sidebar and then click the appropriate button near the top of the window.

Sync ringtones, music, movies, and TV shows to your iPhone

You use the Tones, Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and iTunes U panes to specify the media that you want to copy from your computer to your iPhone. To view any of these panes, make sure that your iPhone is still selected in the sidebar, and then click the appropriate tab near the top of the window.

If you have custom ringtones in your iTunes library, select the Sync Ringtones check box in the Tones pane. Then you can choose either all ringtones or individual ringtones by selecting their check boxes. Ringtones can be used also as text tones and alarms.

To transfer music to your iPhone, select the Sync Music check box in the Music pane. You can then select the option for Entire Music Library or Selected Playlists, Artists, and Genres. If you choose the latter, click the check boxes next to particular playlists, artists, and genres you want to transfer.You also can choose to include music videos or voice memos or both by selecting the appropriate check boxes at the top of the pane (see the following figure).

To transfer movies to your iPhone, select the Sync Movies check box and then choose an option for movies you want to include automatically from the pop-up menu, as shown in the next figure. If you choose an option other than All, you can optionally select individual movies and playlists by selecting the boxes in appropriate sections.

The procedure for syncing TV shows is slightly different from the procedure for syncing movies. First, select the Sync TV Shows check box to enable TV show syncing. Then choose how many episodes to include and whether you want all shows or only selected shows from the two pop-up menus, as shown in the next figure.

If you want to also include individual episodes or episodes on playlists, select the appropriate check boxes in the Shows, Episodes, and Include Episodes from Playlists sections of the TV Shows pane.

Sync podcasts, iTunes U, and books to your iPhone

You can also sync podcasts, educational content from iTunes U, two types of books — e-books for reading and audiobooks for listening — and photos.

To transfer podcasts to your iPhone, select the Sync Podcasts check box in the Podcasts pane. Then you can automatically include however many podcasts you want by making selections from the two pop-up menus, as shown in the following figure. If you have podcast episodes on playlists, you can include them by selecting the appropriate check box in the Include Episodes from Playlists section.

The Podcasts pane determines which podcasts are copied to your iPhone.

To sync educational content from iTunes U, first select the Sync iTunes U check box to enable iTunes U syncing. Then choose how many episodes to include and whether you want all collections or only selected collections from the two pop-up menus.

If you want to also include individual items or items on playlists, select the appropriate check boxes in the Items section and Include Items from Playlists section of the iTunes U pane.

You can sync all your e-books and audiobooks as well as just sync selected titles by choosing the appropriate buttons and check boxes in the Books pane. To sync e-books, you need the free iBooks app from the App Store.

Sync photos to your iPhone

Syncing photos is a little different from syncing other media because your iPhone has a built-in camera and you may want to copy pictures or videos you take with the iPhone to your computer, as well as copy pictures stored on your computer to your iPhone.

The iPhone syncs photos and videos with the following programs:

Mac: Aperture version 3.2 or later or iPhoto version 9.2 or later

PC: Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop Album

You can also sync photos with any folder on your computer that contains images.

In the Photos pane, select the Sync Photos From check box, and then choose an application or folder from the pop-up menu (which says Aperture in the following figure).